Rockbrook Summer Camp for GirlsRockbrook Summer Camp for Girls in Brevard North Carolina »

Is Camp a Threatened Tradition?

Jeff — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:10:48 +0000

For quite a while, we’ve been writing on this blog about the benefits of summer camp for children. For more than 100 years now in the United States, sleepaway camps have been organized and generations of children have grown stronger, more confident, become leaders, forged close friendships, and acquired all kinds of physical, personal and social skills as a result. There really is little doubt that the sleep away camp experience of “getting away” for a few weeks is valuable for children in long-lasting and profound ways.

Even while recognizing all of this, however, there is a growing awareness that certain modern forces are threatening this great American tradition. Today, much more than a generation ago, there is competition making claims on our kid’s summer time. A recent article by Mary Beth McCauley in the Christian Science Monitor entitled “Sunset for Summer Camp?” claims as much. Quite correctly, the author observes that demand for shorter camp sessions is increasing, as opposed to longer “all summer” camps. A number of factors are contributing to this trend. School systems are shortening summer vacations. Competitive school sports teams and their coaches driven to win are requiring summer workouts (e.g., soccer “camp”) and scheduled practice days before school opens. Parents are reserving parts of the summer for family travel and vacations. Students are taking summer classes “to get ahead” (SAT prep, for example), and local, short-term day camps abound. With so many options, each claiming to be most important, it’s easy to understand why some parents find it difficult to place longer camp sessions at the top of the heap.

Fortunately, understanding the camp experience, seeing the dramatic positive effects it provides all year round, there are those, and so many Rockbrook parents are among them, who know camp is one of the most important things you can do for your child. For these parents, camp isn’t just a summertime diversion, some kind of extended amusement park; it’s a core part of their child’s personal development. It’s a place for kids to grow and discover who they are. Sure it’s fun, but it’s the kind of fun that means something long afterwords.

We hear it all the time from our parents; camp means the world to their daughters, and they are committed to providing a camp experience for them. This helps explain why, despite economic pressures and competing summer demands, Rockbrook enjoys strong enrollment, with sessions filling and waiting lists forming each summer. Camp is important to our families, and to the girls who attend and make Rockbrook their own. Around here, camp is stronger than all of the forces that may be threatening the traditions we’ve all come to appreciate.

Shared Enthusiasm for Camp

Jeff — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:28:34 +0000

We wanted to pass along just a sample of the feedback we have been receiving through the end-of-camp survey recently sent out to parents. So many wonderful comments, happy campers and thrilled parents, it’s enough to make all of us at camp blush! But also, it means a lot to know that the deep feelings we have for Rockbrook are shared with so many of our camp families. We can hear the appreciation and enthusiasm in your voices! Here’s one parent’s comments.

I would sacrifice just about anything to allow Emma to attend Rockbrook every year, and RBC is not an insignificant expense for us. I love so many things about Rockbrook: the activities that are only available to my daughter at camp, the confidence that she is developing over the years as she participates in different activities that push her comfort level, and the camp friendships that she is building from year to year. I truly believe that Rockbrook Camp is helping shape my daughter into a stronger, more confident person. I am so glad that we found it!

Wow, thanks so much!

How Did We Come to Meet Pal?

Jeff — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:04:11 +0000

Camp provides a huge range of opportunities for girls, chances to try new sports, acquire new skills, discover untapped talents, and of course meet and live with new people. There are wide stripes of fun woven throughout all of this, but the most significant things campers talk about is the amazing friendships they build while at camp. Living so closely together, and sharing so much time together, camp is perfect for making friends. It’s easy at camp to relax and be yourself, open up a little and trust each other. That’s probably why there’s something special about camp friends, why for lots of girls, they are their very best friends.

One of the traditional songs at Rockbrook is about camp friends, about the experience of making friends at camp. It’s called How Did We Come to Meet Pal? Here are the lyrics. Read them over, and then go to our camp songs page and listen to the tune!

How did we come to meet pal?
What caused our paths to blend?
‘Twas fate we came to Rockbrook,
And you became my friend.
We’ve roamed these hills together.
And shared our fondest dreams
The spirit fire was kindled
And we learned to follow the cardinal’s gleam.

Chorus:
It’s here at camp
We have learned to grasp
The meaning of, the real worth of
True friendship born to last

Oh Rockbrook, you have given
What none can ‘ere destroy,
Ideals to guide our lives by
And friends to bring us joy.
And when we say farewell
It shall not mean good-bye.
The spark we’ve lit at Rockbrook
We know in ages n’er will die.

Repeat Chorus

Parent, Atlanta, GA

rbc — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:28:19 +0000

We were impressed by the friendships our daughter made. This was her first experience with sleep away camp and she loved it all.

Rockbrook Wedding Anniversary

rbc — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 12:19:50 +0000

This is a very special day for Jeff and Sarah Carter because it’s their wedding anniversary. It’s also a special day for Rockbrook because the Carters are the only owners and directors of camp who were also married at Rockbrook as well. So in a way, it’s Rockbrook’s wedding anniversary too!

Here are just a couple of photos from the wedding— August 17, 1996. Friends and family members came for the whole weekend with some staying in cabins. The ceremony was held in the upper lodge and the reception in the dining hall.

Happy 14 years!

Learn more about Sarah and Jeff (and see a more recent photo!).

Camp Newspaper Published

Jeff — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:00:15 +0000

Each session the girls who sign up for the Journalism activity while at Rockbrook contribute to a camp newspaper called the Toilet Paper. It is hung inside the bathroom stalls all over camp so everyone can have a chance to read it. The girls publish fun surveys, report on camp news, do interviews, highlight camp special events, and add original creative writing pieces as well. It’s a fun way to share some of the writing they’ve been doing in Journalism, and everyone enjoys seeing what they’ve been up to.

This is the most recent edition from 3rd session. Click the image to see a larger version.

Summer 2010 — The Last Day

Jeff — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 02:56:05 +0000

It’s hard to believe it, but we’ve come to the last day of our third session, and the final day of Rockbrook’s 2010 summer season. Thinking back, it’s been a wonderful session. There are so many cool things we’ve done (kayaking, horseback riding, learning archery!!), amazing friends we’ve made, and unexpected ways we’ve grown, becoming more confident, more capable and just plain happy. Over these last few weeks, camp has proven itself, once again, to be a place where we can relax and be our true selves. It’s been a joyful place, surely overrun with complete silliness at times, but also something strong and significant for all of us.

Saying goodbye is hard also, and yes a little sad. But we’re grateful for the time we’ve spent together and for the awesome experience we’ve shared. And while we’ll miss each other, we know the Rockbrook Spirit will stay with us and we’ll most likely see each other next summer back at camp.

It has been a real privilege for all of us at Rockbrook to spend these weeks with your camper. Thank you for sharing such marvelous girls!

Celebrating Third Session 2010

Jeff — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:27:09 +0000

It’s easy to celebrate the session when you look back on all that we’ve done over the last few weeks. It’s celebrating, though, that we do today, our last full day together. Foremost, perhaps, the girls mark their place as a cabin group by designing and painting a plaque for the inside of their cabin, something with all the their names and the date that can be hung in the cabin for girls who come after them to see. The girls spend so much time together as a cabin group, and share so much (at every meal, for example), it makes sense to want to preserve that group feeling. Of course, there’s always the cabin photo, but this is something extra.

Down at the barn, the girls who have been riding celebrate their experience by presenting the “Horse Show” for the rest of the camp. This is a chance for the riders to show off their new skills, ride their favorite horse again, and perform horseback riding drill team routines. Instead of a competition with prizes and ribbons, this is a real show with everyone welcome to demonstrate their horseback riding abilities and to have fun doing it. It really is a cheerful atmosphere, complete with popsicles to help everyone to stay cool as the late morning sun came up over the mountain.

We also celebrated the amazing dramatic, vocal and dancing talents of our campers with the presentation of this session’s musical, Annie. After weeks of working on their parts, rehearsing, building scenery and designing costumes, everything came together for an amazing show. We had more than 80 parents attending, and with the entire camp also there, the gym was packed! If you didn’t get to see it, you’ll be able to catch it on this year’s DVD yearbook. No worries.

We’d held off long enough for another “Rockbrook Surprise” everyone loves: Biltmore Train! That’s our special all-you-can-eat ice cream bonanza recalling the Biltmore Dairy’s ice cream truck and its camp visits. Think tubs of ice cream, stacks of cones, and the campers going back for more and more. Certainly a little decadent, but it was also a great way to celebrate everyone’s success with the play and to enjoy some time socializing with the families who came to see the performance.

Perhaps the biggest celebration of the day came at the end when we held our Spirit Fire closing campfire. Since it’s very first summer in 1921 Rockbrook has closed its sessions by gathering everyone around the fire ring on Vesper Rock to reflect upon and appreciate everything we’ve shared over the last few weeks. Through songs, memories, tributes and recognitions, we all celebrate each other and what camp means to us. It was remarkable to see these girls choke back tears as they hug each other and about their love for each other and for Rockbrook. Camp, how it makes them feel and how it helps them grow, is so important to them. It’s humbling to see it in action.

The final day of camp is full of celebrations. Throughout the weeks of camp, these Rockbrook girls accomplish wonderful and amazing things. They learn more than they can say, and grow more than they realize, but most importantly, feel at home at Rockbrook. It’s their camp.

With all of that, it’s easy to celebrate.

Under the Sea

Jeff — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 02:36:56 +0000

Today was the last full day of regular activities. This sent the girls scurrying around to finish up craft projects, climb the alpine tower one last time, try again to hit the bullseye in archery or riflery. It also meant that chances to “hang out” with friends were also becoming more precious. At the lake, a group of seniors were sunbathing, and another crowd of juniors, for example, were enjoying the view on the hill before lunch. The approaching end of camp puts everyone in a nostalgic mood of sorts, and we all want to make the most of these last couple of days.

Jeff has had the Hi-Ups (10th graders) on their 3-day trip since Sunday. They all went to Lake Keowee and Lake Jocassee down in South Carolina for camping, water skiing, hiking and of course swimming. The weather was hot and sunny, and with plenty water all around, we felt like it was a beach vacation. There were lots of thrills as we explored amazing waterfalls and jumped from high rocks into the water.

The big event tonight was something the entire camp has been anticipating all session— the big surprise banquet presented by the CAs (9th graders). They pick a secret theme, plan all of the decorations, food, costumes, music, skits, dances, and do all of the work getting ready for tonight. It’s a huge undertaking! So what was the theme this session? “Under the Sea.” The entire dining hall was transformed into an underwater paradise with fish, blue cellophane overhead, a whale, a submarine, seaweed, and shark mouth at the main door. The CAs were dressed as the movie characters Sebastian, Dory, Nemo, Flounder, Whale, and the counselors were scuba divers. For dinner (not counting all the candy on the table ) they served “Fish Sticks with Tartar Sauce,” “Crabby Patties & Ocean Algae” and “Sea Foam” (mozzarella sticks, hamburgers, jello). For the campers, this is a magical experience and something they’ll always remember.

Tournaments and Halloween Dinner

rbc — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:46:42 +0000

This morning our tennis, archery and riflery “teams” traveled to Camp Carolina to challenge the boys in a tournament. This is a long tradition for both camps. We select 3 girls from each age group (Juniors, Middlers and Seniors) for each of these sports, and get together for a friendly competition between the genders. It’s fun to see us load up the buses because we bring our own equipment— our sharp shooting riflery team with their guns, the strong, steady archers with their bows, and our tennis girls carrying their rackets. Many of the girls wore their matching Rockbrook t-shirts to build up a little team spirit as well. Most of the girls are a little shy at this event, with the possible exception of some of the seniors. We can report several excellent showings and high scores, with a couple of bullseyes and aces in our column, but overall the Carolina boys won the title this session. It was a fun morning to show our stuff, and next year, we’ll have even more to bring!

Back at camp, the day’s muffins caused quite a stir. Liz created yet another original flavor she decided to call the “Rockbrook Double Whammy.” They were chocolate chip and sprinkles! Sweet, colorful little cakes, fresh-baked and oh so good!

Dinner was out of this world… for a couple of reasons. First the food was absolutely delicious. We had mounds of homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. The potatoes were so creamy and the chicken seasoned just perfectly, the girls kept coming back for more and more. In case you haven’t noticed Rockbrook girls like to get dressed up in costumes, but not just costumes you find on a shelf in a store. They like to create costumes, and tonight was an excellent example of that as everyone came to dinner for “Halloween.” This is really a lot of fun because the cabins work on their costumes together, mixing and matching different “elements” to achieve a certain effect. That’s why you shouldn’t be surprised if you see something you sent with your daughter being worn by someone else. Tonight we had zombie brides, cats, Egyptian princess, witches and so many other unfathomable characters. You’ll have to check out the photo gallery to see how all this creativity turned out. Awesome stuff!